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<DIV><FONT size=4>Dear friends and colleagues,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>On the assumption (perhaps erroneous) that few
Koreanists</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>are also subscribers to<EM> </EM>the fine arts journal
<EM><STRONG>Print Quarterly</STRONG></EM>, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>published in London, </FONT><FONT size=4>I hope I may share
the </FONT><FONT size=4>review below.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>This ventures somewhat beyond my usual furrow. It is also
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>the first </FONT><FONT size=4>piece I've co-written
with my fiancée, Dr Kate Hext. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>It is unexpectedly topical too, in that the Australian
government</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>recently denied visas to six DPRK artists whose work is
currently</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>on show in Brisbane, as mentioned briefly below. (For
details, see:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2009/12/07/australian-govt-denies-visas-to-dprk-artists/"><FONT
size=2>http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2009/12/07/australian-govt-denies-visas-to-dprk-artists/</FONT></A><FONT
size=4>)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>This seems to me a petty-minded, pointless and deplorable
action.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Best wishes</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Aidan FC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 14pt" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Aidan Foster-Carter<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><FONT
size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology
& Modern Korea, Leeds University, UK
<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Flat 1, 40 Magdalen Road,
Exeter, Devon, EX2 4TE, England, UK<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">T: (+44, no 0) <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>07970 741307 (mobile); <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">01392 257753<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Skype</I>: Aidan.Foster.Carter<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN-GB>E: </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black" lang=EN-GB><A
title=mailto:afostercarter@aol.com
href="mailto:afostercarter@aol.com">afostercarter@aol.com</A>,<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><A
title=mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com
href="mailto:afostercarter@yahoo.com">afostercarter@yahoo.com</A><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>W: <A
title=http://www.aidanfc.net/
href="http://www.aidanfc.net/">www.aidanfc.net</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Constantia; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"
lang=EN-GB>Merry Christmas, and here's hoping (malgré
tout)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></STRONG></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Constantia; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt"
lang=EN-GB><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>for a peaceful, healthy
and prosperous New Year!</SPAN></I></STRONG><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>_________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Review commissioned by <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Print Quarterly</B>. Completed 20 August
2009. Lightly edited version published in the December 2009 issue (Vol XXVI no
4), pp 429-31.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT><A
href="http://www.printquarterly.com/"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">www.printquarterly.com</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=5>North Korea as Communist
Chic<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><FONT face=Cambria><FONT size=4>Aidan Foster-Carter and Kate
Hext<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3 face=Cambria></FONT></o:p></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>David Heather (editor), <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">North Korean Posters</I>, Munich, Prestel
Verlag, 2008, </FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>288 pp., 250 col. ills., £12.99,
$25.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT
size=4></FONT></o:p></SPAN> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>North Korean art is hardly well-known, but
it has recently seen something of a surge. For this David Heather can claim some
credit, and does. As he boasts in his brief (just one page) preface to this
block of a book, “I held the largest exhibition of North Korean Contemporary Art
in the West in June 2007 in the heart of London and managed to fly the North
Korean Flag in Pall Mall for probably the first time ever” (p.7, capitals in
original).<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>That militant tone, here tongue in cheek, is
deadly serious in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">North Korean
Posters</I>. On page after gaudy page angry Korean heroes curse and smite the
foe, mostly Americans with hook noses. Fists, tanks and sledgehammers crush;
bayonets lunge and stab; rockets rain down – including on a shattered US Capitol
(p. 138), in blithe disregard of post-9/11
sensitivities.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>In a year when North Korea has been censured
by the UN for testing a nuclear device and a long-range missile, such images can
only reinforce stereotypes of what Koen De Ceuster in his introduction calls a
country “often misrepresented and largely misunderstood” (p.9). Yet there is
more to North Korean art than this, as anyone who attended David Heather’s shows
at La Galleria can attest. (For those who missed out, images and comment can
still be found by searching Philip Gowman’s LondonKoreanLinks website, an
indispensable resource.)<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB" lang=EN-GB>Here one finds a
commercial tie-in modestly unadvertised in <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">North Korean Posters.</I> The said posters,
plus a range of other artworks – various genres of painting, tapestry and
ceramics – may be purchased via www.northkoreanart.org, which proclaims that:
“</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black">La Galleria Pall Mall has the privilege to be
the only Gallery outside DPR Korea to be permitted to sell art and represent
individual artists from North Korea. We can certify that all the works are
original and authentic, made and signed by the artists themselves in Pyongyang.”
These posters, here described as “Propaganda Popart” (sic), can be yours for
£250 each (unframed) plus postage.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>“Individual artists”? Not one is named in
the book under review. Nor are the pieces dated; so one cannot trace the
evolution of styles or themes, let alone particular artists. By contrast, the
first volume in this series by Prestel – <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Soviet Posters</I>, featuring Sergo
Grigorian’s collection (2007) – is divided into six periods; each work is dated,
with notes on artists and other detail. The absence of such basic data in <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">North Korean Posters</I> is a serious
omission. De Ceuster’s useful Introduction gives the broad context, yet is oddly
free-standing. With few exceptions the posters are left to shout for themselves,
with no information except basic translations of the slogans – which, bizarrely
and inconveniently, are printed sideways rather than
below.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>Furthermore, when is a North Korean poster
“original and authentic”? De Ceuster notes that “hand-painted reproductions find
ready buyers abroad.” Northkoreanart.org is silent on this key question for
collectors: what exactly does your £250 buy, an original or a copy? (Also its
comments on the actual art are trite, even illiterate: gouache and propaganda
are misspelled.)<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>The ambiguities go on. Curiously,
Northkoreanart does not say who exactly is its partner in Pyongyang, but its
sister site LaGalleria.org reveals this as the Mansudae Art Studio. Yet a search
swiftly brings up mansudaeartstudio.com, based in Italy and claiming to be “the
only official web-site of the Mansudae Art Studio in the West,” which pipped
Heather to the post with an exhibition in Genoa in May 2007. Will the real
Mansudae reps please stand up? The Italian site is far more educative. Through
it one can buy <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Hermit Country</I>,
which despite a clichéd title (it must have miffed the comrades) is a much
better, broader book on modern North Korean art, not limited to posters. The
moving spirits here are a pair of Pier Luigis: Cecioni, a collector who owns 600
works; and Tazzi, an idiosyncratic but insightful
critic.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>For a serious academic survey, Jane Portal’s
aptly titled <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Art Under Control in North
Korea</I> (Reaktion/British Museum, 2005), with its fully integrated text and
illustrations, is essential. The current art scene in Pyongyang was recently
described in an excellent piece by Adrian Dannatt in March’s <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Art Newspaper
</I>(http://www.theartnewspaper.com/article.asp?id=17096). This is big business,
on an industrial scale. Mansudae has a thousand artists producing “at least
4,000 top level original works a year [and] a factory-style section producing
copies for western hotels;” while abroad it claims to have held over 100 shows
in some 70 countries. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>Perhaps there are yet more ‘sole agents’ out
there? North Korea lends itself to a Columbus complex. People who happen upon it
often imagine they are the first ever to do so, and even when disabused they
like to claim a special niche. Scepticism is in order, on many
counts.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>As Dannatt says: “it could not be easier to
assemble a collection of contemporary DPRK art … but it could not be harder to
source the originals.” He quotes Nicholas Bonner, the doyen of collectors in
this area – he began in 1993, and is curating a major exhibition in Brisbane in
December – on how many ‘original’ works are in fact copies, and how to tell the
difference. Bonner’s website Pyongyangartstudio.com, showcasing his gallery in
Beijing, makes no monopoly claims but focuses on the actual art. Interestingly
Bonner eschews the propaganda genre, but has a fascinating selection of film
posters: a far less aggressive variant, ignored by Heather. He is also
scrupulous in specifying that what he offers are “hand painted
copies.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>But back to the book. <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">North Korean Posters</I> is a sadly missed
opportunity. It reiterates visual cliché, but gives almost no context –
historical, political, artistic – for these specific works. It is just a picture
book to flick through: no dates, no dimensions, no artists. For a publisher of
Prestel’s stature these are shameful lapses. Is the image somehow meant to speak
for itself?<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT size=4
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: black"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=4>Absent such essentials, this is just another
twist on commie chic – like Che Guevara T-shirts. It is all very postmodern and
cynical. Once upon a time North Korea was communist. Some of these posters are
about ideals people believed in, as they strove to build a better society. In
today’s DPRK, a half-starved neo-feudal tyranny, one of the few ways to earn
hard cash is factories of well-trained draughtsmen flogging second-hand images –
bilious or kitsch, take your pick – to gullible, exoticizing Westerners. (Here
as in all else, the contrast with South Korea’s brilliant and original art scene
is acutely painful.) The laugh is on us too, if we just gawp at these admittedly
striking visuals. Have we lost our minds? Do we care to know what we are we
looking at? Neither Heather nor Prestel seem bothered. <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Caveat lector – et
emptor</I>.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Aidan Foster-Carter</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> is honorary senior research fellow in
sociology and modern Korea at Leeds University. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Kate Hext </B>recently completed a PhD in
aesthetics (on Walter Pater) at Exeter University,</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">and is an
associate lecturer at the University of the West of England.</SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"
lang=EN-GB><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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